It's Something Unpredictable
by HopelesslyOlitz
Summary: AU. Fitzgerald Thomas Grant III is the CEO of a wildly successful internet dating site until a sex scandal threatens to bring down his company. Olivia Pope, the wife of Senator Davis, is called in to work her magic. Will Olivia be able to fix this struggling company? Will Olivia start a Scandal of her own?
1. Eligible

Sadly, I don't own Scandal. I hope you guys like this!

Chapter 1 Eligible

Fitzgerald Thomas Grant III's morning routine was absolute, and he had never wavered from it until this morning. Typically, his alarm would begin blaring AC DC's Hells Bells at 4:30 am. If he was alone, he would hit the snooze button every 6 minutes until 5. That was how he liked it. Up until Hooker-gate, he would indulge in hours of extracurricular activity with a high priced call girl, and then get a few hours of uninterrupted sleep alone in his own bed after she would leave. Three days ago, that all changed when he received a call from from the Times' reporter Gideon Wallace.

"Hi Mr. Grant. I was calling to get a comment for a story I'm working on.", Gideon's voice echoed through the receiver.

"Sure Wallace. What's your story?" Fitz asked in a care free tone.

"We got a hold of Sharon Marquette's client list."

Suddenly, Fitz felt as if his tie was strangling him.

Gideon continued dryly, "According to the list, you are a fan of hardwood floors, sunny days and cups of coffee late at night".

Gideon continued with an audible chuckle, "Congratulations Mr. Grant, you were the only john listed as FTF. I had to Google it, but it stands for Fun to Fuck".

Fitz's fingers were gripping the phone so tightly that there was the possibility that it would crumble into dust at any moment.

"Are you still there Mr. Grant? What's your comment?"

"Fuck you! That is my fucking comment", Fitz roared before slamming the phone down onto his mahogany desk.

Since that phone call, Fitz has forced to roll out of bed begrudgingly at 4:30 and spends the next 30 minutes getting his "date" from the night before out of bed and out of his life. He spends next fifteen minutes throwing on clothes and curses the New York Times for threatening to publishing Sharon Marquette's list naming him as a frequent john. Now, he laments on the fact that now he needes to buy a woman dinner, maintain a conversation, a pull out the Grant charm just to get laid. By 5:15 he is walking into his building's gym, popping in his ear buds and heading over to the weights to begin his work out. He began working out early in the morning because he virtually had the gym to himself. As word spread through the building about Fitz's early morning work outs, the gym became filled nearly to capacity from 5:15 to 7:15. Looking around the gym, Fitz was only one of 2 men in the entire complex. At 5:15 in the morning, the women looked like they were club ready; not health club ready. Fitz observed that in addition to the new crowd during his work outs, other changes were taking place as well. Every day, the work out attire became more revealing. The corners of Fitz's lips spontaneously curled upwards into a smirk as he thought "At this rate, the gym will be able to double as a nudest colony in a few days". Fitz wondered if any of these women read the Times this morning. Did they read about Hooker-gate? Would they care? He shrugged to himself. These were not the type of women he would want to bed anyway. He went for leggy blondes in their early 20s and these women were middle aged society women. Fitz resolved to himself that Hooker-gate was not going to be a long term cock block for him. He was rich, handsome and had serious game when it came to women. He was going to ride this out and be just fine. Just to be sure, he decided to "nail" down his plans for the evening. Fitz wiped down his machine and chugged his water. "OK time to pull out the Grant swagger" he thought to himself. Fitz instantly zeroed in on the hottest piece of ass in the gym. She was a 21 year old heiress/socialite named Michia Piertro. The two had met several times; however she wasn't something Fitz would have ever pursued before. Michia was close enough to Fitz's type. She is definitely not what you would call a natural beauty, but she was definitely a turn on. Michia looks more like a petite play boy bunny than an heiress. Today was the first day Michia was taking her DD's out for a spin since she purchased them. As Fitz got closer, she tucked a strand of her bleach blonde hair behind her ear and gave her brightest smile. "These things were worth every penny." she thought as Fitz stopped in front of her. Michia looked at Fitz like dog eying up a juicy steak. He decided to save his A game for when he really needed it.

"Hey Beautiful", Fitz said flashing her the Grant smile that could make any woman melt like a popsicle in July.

"Hey Fitz" Michia cooed as sprung onto her tiptoes and leaned forward to kiss his cheek.

"What is your schedule like tonight?"

"It depends on why your asking." Michia said coyly while twisting a strand hair seductively around her right index finger.

"I was thinking that we could grab a drink at Pravda and catch up." Fitz said trying to sound sincere.

"That's absolutely fabulous Fitz!"

"I actually had a date with some guy that I met at PH-D, but he isn't Fitzgerald Grant, so I'll cancel."

"How's 9?" he interjected quickly, hoping that it would put an end to her babbling.

"Puuurrrfect" she whispered into his ear, pressing her hands into the sweat soaked fabric covering his chiseled chest.

Michia quickly pulled away from Fitz, and hopped onto the treadmill with a little shake spandex covered ass – hopefully to get Fitz's attention. That wasn't going to be an issue. Michia's ass commanded Fitz's attention from the second she turned around. Her ass was an entity all its own, comparable only to Kim Kardashian. She turned around, Fitz slowly lifted his gaze upward spending a few seconds surveying her breasts that were exposed up to centimeters away from her nipple and then continued on route north until their eyes met. His eyes turned from a light blue to to a steely gray and the corners of his mouth turned up into an appreciative smile.

Until she was standing in front of him holding her phone, he had absolutely no idea what she had been doing on the treadmill, and truthfully he didn't care. Michia's eyes were focused on her phone, as gently tapped the screen in a series of light and rhythmic taps.

"You have Bump, right Fitz? I'll give you my info." she said looking at him for a response and then looking back down to her own iPhone.

He nodded, and began to tap at the screen of his own iPhone which he had been holding casually in his right hand. They both held their phones in the palm of their hand and lightly tapped the sides of their phones together, his soft rubber case bumping lightly against her sparkly jewel encrusted one. The held them until they felt the light vibrations on their fingers and pulled them away.

She lifted herself onto her tiptoes whispering in his ear again, this time with a giggle, "I'm sure our phones won't be the only ones doing some bumping today Fitz. I sent you a little something along with my info. Just a little something to help you look forward to our date."

"OK" he replied coolly. "I've got to run. See you tonight" In that moment, he decided to make a hasty retreat to his apartment to avoid any additional conversation with Michia.

"See you tonight" she called loudly enough to make the other women in the gym jealous.

In the elevator, Fitz considered opening the file that Michia had sent him. He decided that it would be better to wait until later in the day. He was relatively positive that he was going to need something to get him through the day and he knew Michia well enough to know that whatever she had sent him would be worth the wait.

By 8:00 he was showered, dressed and making his way to the car waiting to take him to the office. He stepped into the elevator, took a deep breath and then jammed down the L button until was illuminated with a soft orange glow. Maybe it won't be so bad, Fitz mused. Maybe no one will care. There have to be more important people on the list than me. After all, who really gives a shit if I sleep with hookers. The chime of the elevator snapped him out of his inner monologue and back into reality. He managed to convince himself that his little predicament would go completely unnoticed and today would be business as usual. The doors of the elevator slide open to reveal an annoyed looking woman was holding an annoyed Lhasa-Poo. She shot Fitz a death glare that practically screamed I just wish you would implode. He knew, before stepping foot into the lobby. He knew that the shit had hit the proverbial fan. He offered up an apologetic smile as he stepped out of the elevator. He brushed against the woman while his eyes focused in on Gianni the door man rushing toward him.

"Good morning Mr. Grant!" Gianni offered nervously.

"I think you should take the back way out today Mr. Grant. There are a lot of people out there wantin' to take your picture"

"Thanks Gianni, but my car is out front. I am going to have to face this bull...(he trailed off) eventually".

"OK. Let me get the door for you. Good luck Sir."

Gianni pushed the heavy glass door open and as Fitz stepped out into the frosty spring morning, he was instantly surrounded. Within seconds, there was a whirlwind of chaos swirling around him. Microphones were bring thrust toward him from every direction. His name was being shouted by so many reporters, he suspected this is how it would feel to be headlining a sold out show at Madison Square Garden. It was overwhelming, even for a man who has been in the spotlight most of his life. "Walk you idiot" "WALK" he thought to himself. He had been standing frozen under the burgundy awning of his building for a few seconds while reporters continued to hurl questions at him.

He pushed through the crowd and finally reached his waiting Town Car. He slid in and slammed the door behind him.

"Good Morning Mr. Grant"

"That is a matter of opinion Stephen"

"Rough one, huh?"

"You could say that."

Fitz's iPhone began ringing. He shoved his hand into his pocket and fumbled around until his fingers were grasping the rubber of the Griffin Survivor case. He pulled it out of his pocket hastily and glanced at the screen. Cy calling was blinking across the display and Fitz tapped at the answer button.

"Morning Cy"

"Where in holy hell are you Fitz?"

"I'm on my way, Cy. I will be there in 10 minutes. I was hung up this morning"

"So help me Fitzgerald - "hung up" better mean that you were helping orphan's and not getting a morning blow job from some barely legal whore"

"I said 10 minutes" Fitz growled as he hit the end button.

Fitz rubbed his temples before turning his attention back to his iPhone. He spent the a few minutes checking on his stock portfolio and then decided that he had waited long enough to open Michia's attachment. Based on his conversation with Cy, this could possibly be his last free moment until he leaves work this evening. He tapped at his bump app and then clicked on the file named .

The picture that appeared on the screen was not what Fitz was expecting. Sure she was naked, but she was on a deserted beach, slung onto a chaise lounge accentuating all her best assets. This wasn't some picture that she took on her iPhone while she was drunk. Everything about this picture screamed professional.

Fitz chucked to himself, "Gotta love a woman who is prepared with naked pictures on the go". He felt the Town Car veering to the side of the road before coming to a slow and deliberate stop.

"Here we are Mr. Grant"

Fitz let out a very audible sigh, closed out the file, and shoved his phone back into his pocket.

Fitzgerald Thomas Grant III opened the rear door of the Town Car and looked toward the driver. "Thanks Stephen" he said less than enthusiastically. The crisp spring air attacked his exposed skin a million little pricks, but this morning it was a welcomed diversion. Flash bulb exploded around him. He could not hear words coming out of the mouths of the reports, instead all the questions being shouted at him melted together into a soothing white noise. That is until he heard the one question that separated itself from all the other "noise".

"Fitz, have you spoken to your father?" yelled a male voice.

"How does the President feel about his son dating prostitutes?" shouted a female voice.

"Walk you idiot" "WALK" his brain seemed to scream. Again, he stood frozen in shock over the scene taking place in front of him. Almost in slow motion, he looked at his office building towering above him. Finally, after what seemed like hours, his brain and legs began communicating, slowly propelling him through the crowd and toward the lobby doors.

He should have felt relief as he stepped into the familiar lobby. It should have been his refuge, but it wasn't. He knew that going up to his office; the office where Cyrus would be waiting for him was going to be more unpleasant than anything he had experienced this morning. He looked around the lobby that he has walked through a minimum of 2 times per day for the last 5 years. He took it all in as if it were his first time. The marble floors, the high ceilings and the industrial looking elevators less than 100 feet in front of him. He inhaled the familiar scent and turned his head toward the news stand that is set up on the left side of the lobby. On a typical morning, he would have made his way toward the news stand with his Starbucks in hand. He would have grabbed a New York Times and Wall Street Journal and made small talk with Chen while he paid. Today, he didn't want a paper. Part of him wanted to walk over and burn down the news stand, but he quickly realized that it would just exacerbate the problem. In reality, it would only destroy about 200 papers, and tomorrows headlines would probably read: _Without His Hookers, Fitzgerald Grant Finds a New Way to Heat Things Up. _Fitz sighed loudly and returned his gazed to the foreboding elevators in front of him. He felt like shit and wanted to blame it on his lack of coffee this morning. He knew it had very little to do with the coffee. He looked behind him at the hoards of reporters still clamoring outside. Stripping down naked and walking out into the throng of reporters while being stung by millions of bees would more appealing than entering the elevator that would deliver him to Cyrus. His car had already left, so walking out wasn't a plausible solution to the problem at hand. His eyes locked onto a pen laying on the door man's desk which was located directly to his right. "OK" he thought. "I could grab the pen and stab myself in the Coratid. I could put myself out of my misery. Obviously, Cy would commit himself to finding me in the afterlife to chew me out, but by then I will have a better plan" Fitz considered it for a moment before coming to the realization that he would probably not pierce his Coratid deep enough to actually bleed out and Cy would spend the entire ride in the ambulance bitching at him.

He sighed for the thousandth time this morning, although audibly it sounded more like a growl. He walked toward the elevator and jammed down the up arrow on the elevator. The elevator doors slid open and Fitz considered for a moment that this maybe the elevator to actually deliver him directly to hell. He walked in and poked at the button displaying 76. The doors closed and Fitz was standing alone in the small space. He could practically feel the walls closing in on him.

"OK. Here we go" he muttered.


	2. The Things You Learn

I own nothing. I don't own Scandal. I don't own the characters.

Chapter 2 The Things You Learn

"Ladies and gentlemen, Fitzgerald Grant decided to grace us with his presence. I'm so glad that your "hang up" didn't accompany you to the office this morning." Cy said pointedly. He had clearly been standing guard at the elevators waiting for Fitz to arrive.

"Cy, give me a break. Every reporter in New York City was outside my apartment this morning." Fitz shot back as he stepped off the elevator and into 's headquarters.

"I'm sure they were just interested in how many cups of coffee you enjoyed last night." Cy remarked without missing a beat as the two men stood in the reception area.

Cy and Fitz looked toward Alyssa, the receptionist who was perched behind her oversized desk.

"Good morning Mr. Grant. Good Morning Mr. Beene." said trying end the awkwardness.

"Good morning Alyssa" Fitz responded as he breezed past her.

"Good morning Alyssa. Thanks for recommending that website" Cyrus said causing Alyssa to stare down awkwardly at her desk.

Fitz started to walk toward his office , Cyrus followed - " I'd love to discuss with you what an enlightening morning that I had on a site called Urban Dictionary. Not being bi-lingual in whore-speak myself, Alyssa recommended the site to help me translate the list".

Fitz, not taking Cyrus' bait, continued walking briskly through the long hallway to his office in an attempt to shake Cyrus. Even in his 60's, Cyrus would not allow Fitz to get away this easily, and increased his pace to the point of a light jog.

"Jesus Cyrus, it is 9:15,. Can you give me a god damn break? I fucked up, I get it."

"A break" Cyrus sneered. "I haven't slept in 72 hours and you want a break. Obviously, I need to be more sensitive to your needs. Being the playboy of the east coast and single-handedly bringing down a business is exhausting. Do you want me to run and get you a fruity drink with a little umbrella in it? Maybe I could call in a girl to give you a massage. I realize that you are use to the massages that include happy endings, but under the circumstances." Cyrus trailed off. "What the hell! Let's sign you up for the happy ending. It may be an extra thousand, but if it helps you to relax." he practically shouted getting redder in the face with each spoken word.

Fitz was getting annoyed. His own face began to redden and his fists began to clench. "Say what you came in here to say Cyrus, then get the hell out. I created this company. I built this company. In case you have forgotten, I am the President and CEO. Last time I checked, your were the Chief Operations Officer and report directly to me.

"You created nothing Fitz. You came up with the idea of this company while you were fall down drunk at Harvard frat party. If Mellie didn't tell you about your idea the morning after, it would have been down the drain with your vomit."

Cyrus had a point. This company started as a joke, as a way of getting Mellie to leave him the hell alone.

_Mellie had been chasing Fitz around Harvard like a lost puppy. Their parents had been friends for as long as either had been able to remember. Fitz always assumed that their parents had decided that Mellie and Fitz were betrothed while both were still in utero. Their parents may have had a plan, but there was no way in hell that Fitz would be allowing anyone to plan his life. He remembers the night that he had finally had enough – the night he created the company. He remembers being buzzed out of his mind, when Mellie tried to corner him for at least the 10__th__ time that day. Gone were the days of Mel trying to snag her man with confidence and poise. More recently, she had resorted begging and guilt. _

"_I always assumed we'd be together Fitz" she wined. "There isn't anyone at this stupid school that even interests me besides you." _

"_Try a dating website Mel" he slurred. "Plenty of catches on those" he said chugging tequila straight from the bottle._

"_Fitzgerald, do you want me to end up hacked up in some man's basement?"_

_Even in his inebriated state, it didn't seem like the worst thing in the world – being hacked up in some guys basement meant she would definitely leave him alone. _

"_I'm going to make a dating site where you need those things...you know...to make sure you aren't a body hacking freak before you can become a member" Fitz said in a haze of tequila . _

"_A background check?" Mellie questioned._

"_Yep, a background check. Tomorrow, you can get laid without any fear of being hacked apart" was the last thing he said before he grabbed a random blonde and shoved his tongue into her mouth. _

He didn't really create anything. If Cyrus had not overheard Fitz and Mellie talking in his Micro Economic Theory class, Fitz would've never followed through. Mellie would probably still be stalking him, and he would have some pencil pushing job at Price Waterhouse.

Fitz began to feel a pang of guilt. Cyrus was being an asshole - but that was just Cy.

"This is going to blow over Cy. It isn't going to bring down the whole company" Fitz said calmly.

"We're launching this IPO on the New York Stock Exchange in less than a year, Fitz. The world is waiting for our stock to go public! When the stock goes public, investors are speculating that the price will go through the roof, along with our net worth. They are saying you are going to beat Zuckerberg and become the 25th richest man in the country." Cyrus said exacerbated. "People don't want to ask for relationship help from a guy who needs to pay for sex."

"Well, essentially" Fitz began.

"Don't complete that thought out loud Fitz" Cyrus warned.

"Alright Cy, obviously you think we need to do something here and obviously you already have a plan. Lay it out already so I can go get a coffee."

"We need a fixer, a public relations guru. We need Olivia Pope" Cy announced.

"Who the hell is Olivia Pope? Fitz inquired.

"She is the wife of Senator Davis. I know you don't think much of him, but she is a pit bull. She is the best fixer/public relations guru/ image consultant this country has ever seen."

"If she is so great, why doesn't she have a job?

"She just flew home last night after working on Reston's campaign in California. I booked a 1 o'clock flight out of JFK to Dulles. I'm going to snatch her up before she signs with someone else." Cyrus stated matter of factly.

"And why would she come to work for us so soon after Reston's campaign?"

"Because she would do anything for her old friend Cyrus. She was my star student at Harvard.

Fitz, she isn't like the other gals you have working around her – she is not a prom queen."

"Alright Cy. I met her a few months ago at the Peninsula with Edison. She seemed more prom queen than pit bull, but if you think she is what we need, then we will go with her."

Satisfied, Cyrus turned to leave.

"Cyrus" Fitz called. "Why are you flying all the way to D.C. To offer her the job? Can't you just do that over the phone?"

"She's been inviting me down to see their new house for ages. It is a kill two birds with one stone kind of things" Cy said over his shoulder as he walked toward his office.

Cyrus figured that it was true enough. He had just spoken with Olivia last night. She had told him that she was taking a leave off of work. She wanted to support Edison's political career for awhile and try to start a family. Olivia might require the type of slight encouragement take on their case, the type of encouragement that only Cyrus is able to give.

Cyrus grabbed the manilla folder from his desk and an over night bag from the floor. Cyrus had a feeling that this would be a very productive trip to D.C.


	3. Gladiator Barbie Maybe

**Hi Guys! Thanks for the reviews. I love the feedback. Now to respond to some of your questions and comments without giving anything away. **

***Fitz is 42 and Olivia is 31. Fitz and Edison are the same age and went to college together.**

***I was concerned about Fitz paying for sex too. But, think back to Hugh Grant. He paid for sex and I personally would be happy to do him seven ways of Sunday for free. And we can't forget Charlie Sheen's love of hookers. Maybe Fitz isn't paying for sex as much as he is paying for a hassle free good time, or maybe he just likes some kinky stuff.**

***I guess we don't know if Olivia is happy with Davis. She might be, or she might have been giving her friend Cyrus the illusion of a perfect life. Sometimes we lie, to ourselves and to others to fool ourselves into believing we are happy. Edison might be the love of her life or he may have ruined her life. **

**I still don't own Scandal or any of the characters. I'm just trying to heal from Shonda's emotional ambush in the finale. That woman seriously F-ed with my head!**

Chapter 3 Gladiator Barbie Maybe

Cyrus slammed on his brakes, almost missing the turn into Olivia's driveway. Before turning off the ignition, he glanced down at the slip of paper crumpled on the passenger's seat of his rental car. He double checked the address, pulled the key from the ignition and reached for the interior door handle of the car. The house had a stone exterior with giant white columns on both sides of the small porch. A small second floor balcony hung over the entry way like an awning. Cyrus was expecting something more in line with the Olivia Pope signature style that he had come to know and love. The house towering before him looked more like a miniature stone White House.

Cy rang the bell, and surveyed the grounds as he waited. The door swung open and Olivia shot him a huge smile.  
"Olivia!" He sounded so excited and stood with out stretched arms.

"Cy! Hi, hello, how are you?" She leaned into his hug and gave him a quick kiss on the cheek. She was after all happy to see her friend Cyrus – however, she knew him well enough to know that the great Cyrus Beene doesn't fly to D.C. just to bring you a house warming gift.

Olivia showed Cyrus into a sitting room off of the foyer. They spent a few minutes catching up before she excused herself to get them something to drink. When she returned, Cyrus sipped his coffee slowly as he started back into their conversation.

"I can't believe you moved out of your brownstone. You loved that place."

"I needed a change and Edison wanted a house with a yard." she said casting her eyes downward.

At some point, she wanted that too. It had been a little over a year ago, but now it seemed more like decades. They bought this house to raise a family in. Now, it is a constant reminder of her pain and what she considers her greatest failure.

"Ready for the official tour?" she said trying to sound enthusiastic about a house that she had come to hate.

"Lead the way" Cyrus said grabbing Olivia's arm.

They meandered through the house. She showed him every room, except for one. It was the one room that held all her past dreams, and pain. It was the nursery that they had prepared for the daughter she had lost a little over a year ago.

She ended the tour on the deck that boasted lovely views of the Potomac.

"Do you mind if I smoke out here? Cyrus inquired.

"Be my guest ." she said as Cyrus pulled a cigarette out of the package, lit it and took a few puffs.

"I can't believe you still smoke. They are going to kill you." she said as she grabbed the stick out from between his fingers.

"I quit ages ago. Edison is a health nut and it really bothered him when I would smoke." she said matter of factly as she took a long satisfying drag of the cigarette.

"I also gave up wine and Diet Coke. I 'm living the healthy lifestyle now Cy. I don't miss any of it a bit." she lied as she she placed the cigarette to her lips and inhaled deeply before exhaling perfectly formed smoke rings.

"Not one bit. You really should quit." she said with a smirk.

" At one point, I thought the cigarette was giving you a mini orgasm, but I can see that you don't miss smoking."

She extinguished the butt and they walked back into the house.

"Actually Olivia, you helping me out with an orgasm is the reason I'm here."

Olivia eyed Cy and retorted, "Cyrus, flattery will get you everywhere. But, your gay, so unless you want to borrow Edison, I'm not sure how I could help you with orgasm issue."

"Who is borrowing me?" Edison asked as he walked into the kitchen where they were sitting.

Olivia giggled, "No one. I was just giving Cyrus a hard time.

"Edison, your remember Cyrus."

"Sure. What brings you to D.C.? Edison asks as he leans down to kiss Olivia.

"You smell like smoke?" Edison said before Cyrus could answer.

"I know!" she said with mock outrage. Cyrus was smoking outside when a huge gust of wind blew his cancer cloud toward me.

Cyrus rolled his eyes.

"I came to D.C. To ask a favor of your wife." Cy said looking between Olivia and Edison.

"He needs me to help him with an orgasm" Olivia said triumphantly.

Cyrus sighed loudly, "I really hate it when you try to be cute".

"I'm sure you have been following the news. My boss, Fitzgerald Grant, managed to get himself into some trouble. His indiscretions could result a loss of billions for his company. We need a fixer, the best fixer, so naturally I thought of you. " he said looking directly to Olivia

"Cy," she began trying to let him down gently.

Edison stepped two steps away from Olivia and looked Cyrus in the eyes, "She is not doing it."

Irritated Olivia shot back, " I can make my own decisions on whether or not I am going to take this job."

"I've allowed you play business girl Barbie long enough" Edison boomed. It is time that you realize that you are my wife. It is time that you quit this silly job and start supporting me like the other Senators' wives.

Cyrus sat up a straighter and tried to contain his smile. "Edison did all the work for me" Cyrus thought to himself. "He is practically packing her bags"

"You've allowed me?" Olivia seethed walking into the next room with Edison following close behind her. "I am not some fucking trophy wife! I am not some fucking airhead that you picked up in a bar and I am not your child. You do not "allow" me to do anything. I make my own decisions you self righteous son of a bitch. I have a job - an important job – a job that I am great at. So if you want someone to support you like the other Senators' wives, I suggest placing an ad on because I will be working in New York." Olivia screamed as she continued pacing around the living room.

Cyrus sat back, trying not to smile. He should have went out onto the deck – out of earshot, but this is the kind of thing that Cyrus Beene lived for.

Edison moved closer and into Olivia's personal space. "You aren't going anywhere. You especially aren't working for that douche-bag Fitz Grant. He is a womanizer and I forbid you to work for him or his company."

"You forbid me? You won't allow me? Buy a fucking dog Edison – a dog is something you can control. I am your wife. You don't own me! I don't belong to you! I'm doing this and if you don't like it TOO FUCKING BAD" she screamed – getting more animated with every word.

Edison let out a primal growl that was filled with rage. He turned away from Olivia and walked toward the door. The rage he was feeling took over. He pulled his arm back and slammed his clenched fist forcefully into the wall. He pulled his arm back from the wall and stormed out. Hearing the loud thud, Cyrus rushed in from the kitchen. Cyrus and Olivia stared in silence at the fist sized hole in the drywall.

Olivia finally broke the silence. "What time does our plane leave?"

" I have the corporate jet. We can leave whenever you are packed."

"OK" Olivia said, her statement lacking emotion.

While she was packing, Cyrus called the office to update Fitz and have the company reserve Olivia a hotel room. Before hanging up, Cyrus mentioned, "Edison remembers you from your college days. He had some lovely things to say about you." Fitz countered, "He is a dick." and hung up.

Michia eyed Fitz as he hung up the phone.

"Who's a dick?" Michia laughed.

"No one worth talking about." Fitz replied. "Another round?" Fitz was gesturing toward the empty shot glasses in front of them.

"Yep" Michia slurred already being significantly intoxicated.

Fitz smiled, and motioned to the bartender. Fitz decided that the only way to forget about this shit day was to drown it with alcohol.

After being cut off by the bartender, Fitz accepted the fact that he was thoroughly obliterated and should head back to his apartment with Michia.

Fitz stood up first and and attempted to stabilize his footing. Michia began to slide out of her chair but has a hard time as the world spun around her. Her feet touched the ground, her knees buckled and she went stumbling backwards into the bar. Fitz looked down at her and began laughing like a hyena while leaning against the bar stool. He too eventually lost his balance and within seconds they were both clawing at the bar trying to regain their upright position. The duo made their way our of the bar without further incident. As Fitz and Michia stepped out into the cold night air, flashbulbs illuminated the sky. Fitz wrapped his arm around Michia's waist and tried to keep her from falling while he pulled her toward the waiting Town Car.

"Good Evening Mr. Grant" the driver said. "Back to your apartment?"

Fitz nodded and the car pulled away from the curb.

Twenty minutes later the car slowed to a stop in front of their building. Michia made her way out of the Town Car first, bumping her head on the way out. She stumbled onto the curb, with Fitz following behind her. The flash of the camera blinded them both as Michia turned to Fitz. "I think I'm going to be ..." she said groggily before heaving on the curb. Fitz ever the gentleman held her hair before leading her into the building and dropping her off at apartment. Even in his severely inebriated state, Fitz knew that sex was just not happening to tonight.

Olivia and Cyrus were beginning their final decent into JFK. Cyrus glanced at over at the manilla envelope sticking out from his overnight bag. He couldn't believe that he was able to get Olivia to agree to work for TrulyYours without having to get his hands dirty. Edison had done all the dirty work for him.

Cyrus looked at live, a little concerned, and then gave Olivia the plan for the rest of the night and the following morning.

"When we land at JFK, there will be a car waiting to take you to your hotel. I'll send a car to pick you up in the morning to bring you into the office." Olivia nodded. "I'll introduce you to Fitz first thing in the morning" Cy said exciting the plane. "I guess I don't have to do that, after all, you two already met".

"I've never met Fitzgerald Grant." Olivia said grabbing her luggage as she exited the plane.

"I must be mistaken." Cyrus said as grabbed a few pieces of Olivia's luggage and pulled them toward the exit.

Cyrus tried to change the subject as they walked out of the airport toward the waiting cars. When they found their awaiting cars, he kissed her on the cheek "Good night Olivia. I will see you tomorrow morning"

Olivia slid into the back seat and smiled brightly at the driver.

"I'd like to stop at a grocery store on the way."

"Do you have a specific store in mind, Ma'am?"

"Anywhere is fine" Olivia said sweetly.

The driver pulled up to the small all night grocery store and Olivia informed him that she would be quick.

Olivia exited the store triumphantly with 2 cases of Diet Coke, and a box of microwave popcorn. She was now officially ready for her first night in New York City as long as her mini bar was fully stocked with alcohol.


	4. Case Beats Car: Olivia Beats Case

Chapter 4 Case Beats Car: Olivia Beats Case

Olivia stepped out of the elevator and into the lobby of . The lobby was large but not overwhelming. Off to her right was a large seating area with oversized black leather massage chairs and a flat screen TV turned to Live with Kelly and Michael. Olivia had never been a reception area with massaging recliners, but she figured that it was part of the online dating ambiance. To her left, there was a glass wall that spanned entire length of the room. She was in awe of the amazing view of the city.

"Good morning." Alyssa said perched behind a desk in the center of the room. "May I help you?"

"Hello. I'm Olivia Pope. I'm here to see Cyrus Beene."

Alyssa flipped through a list of Cyrus's scheduled appointments for the day.

"I'm sorry Ms. Pope. I don't see you on the list, but you're welcome to wait."

Olivia thought back to the debacle checking into the hotel the night before. "He might have me on their as Olivia Davis. Would you mind checking?"

"There you are! So are you Pope or Davis? Alyssa had a inquisitive expression on her face.

"Pope" Olivia said trying to hide her annoyance at having to explain this twice in less than twenty four hours removing her elbow length and placing them in her bag.

"OK, Mr. Beene is in the conference room, but he told me to show you in when you arrived. You can leave your coat and purse in his office on the way."

Alyssa stepped out from behind her desk and eyed Olivia up and down. "Love the shoes." she said as she led Olivia down a hallway to the left of her desk.

"Thanks." Olivia said as they stopped at a large sparsely decorated office. Olivia looked around the room, and noticed a picture of James and Ella on a shelf behind the large cherry desk. She still couldn't believe that Cyrus was a father. Of all of the things that Olivia could think of to describe Cyrus, the word paternal wouldn't have been in the top 100. Olivia continued surveying the room before hanging her purse on a coat rack next to a full length wool Armani coat. She gently placed her shell colored Feragamo coat over her purse and turned back toward Alyssa.

"OK lead the way." she said to the stunning young secretary standing in front of her. "Is anyone else in the conference room with Cy? Uh I mean Mr. Beene?"

"Basically the entire company. It is a meeting of all the Chiefs and VPs."

"Great" Olivia said sounding less than enthusiastic. "I thought that I would be able to ease into the day."

Alyssa gave a small laugh. "Don't worry. It'll be fine. They are all a little bit stressed out right now, but they are a great bunch of people. Except for Jane Powell."

"What's wrong with Jane Powell?"

"She's a bit of a racist, but it works out to my advantage." Alyssa winked, "I call in a sick day with a cold and she hears SARS and gives me the whole week off."

A nervous laugh slipped from Olivia's lips. "I'll remember that".

"Here we are. Go ahead in. Knock em dead."

Olivia walked into the conference room and was virtually unnoticed. Roughly 3 dozen people filled the room – some sitting around the large wooden table, but were most standing around the outer perimeter of the room. She found a place near the door and tried to see through the crowd of people to the front of the room. She listened as Cyrus discussed the waning interest in the company's IPO.

"Less than a month ago, investors were clamoring to buy our IPO. We were looking at revenue in the billions. This week, the Journal is projecting IPO revenues only into the millions. OK people, are we going to infuse interest in the IPO?"

"We need to show the investors the potential financial growth." said a female with a screechy voice.

"Our investors are running too fast in the other direction to get near them to talk about financial growth Jane." Cyrus said.

"What about hiring an image consultant?" asked another man.

"Already taken care of Ed. We've hired the best fixer in the business. Her name is Olivia Pope...Davis" he added quickly, "And she is a pit bull."

As Olivia began to blush at Cyrus's compliment, "We will see how great she is Cy." the voice said with a chuckle. "I can't believe that in this room of supposedly intelligent individuals no one can tell me why investors jumping ship like we are on the Titanic."

"What do I pay you people for?" Fitz roared.

Olivia squared her shoulders and took a deep breath. "Mr. Grant" The men and women standing in front of her turned to look at her, shifting so that she able to catch an obstructed glimpse where Fitz was standing. Olivia stepped forward until she had an unobstructed view Fitz. Of course she had seen him on TV or on the cover of magazines, but seeing him in person knocked the wind out of her. She tried hard to steady her breathing. She needed to regain her composure here. She thanked God that there was a 20 foot table in between them, keeping her from rushing toward him, jumping into his arms and making love to him on the a fore mentioned table. "OK Olivia. Get it together here" she silently reprimanded herself and pushed all x-rated thoughts of Fitz out of her head.

She started again. "Mr. Grant, This room filled with highly intelligent people who think you are a nice guy. Their livelihood is dependent on you. Obviously, none of them are going to address the big purple elephant in the room."

"And you are?"

"That is what you are paying me for Mr. Grant." Olivia said lifting her big brown eyes and daring to look into Fitz's eyes that were turning from light blue into a steely gray.

When their eyes met, he could feel his body tense. He should look away, but he couldn't. She could feel him looking at her – at her face – at her body. She could feel her skin becoming warm as his eyes roamed every inch of her. Her soft curls fell softly against her cheek. He wanted to reach out and tuck her curls behind her ears before gently caressing her check.

"I pay you? What's your name?" he managed to get out.

"Olivia Pope, your new fixer. Obviously you don't believe Cy's hype, but I'm great, and I am going to blow your mind." she said placing her hands onto her hips.

He wondered if she had any idea that she was already blowing his mind. He had no idea how a woman dressed in business attire could make his body betray him like this. Her shirt displayed just the right about of cleavage. He wondered what color her bra was, and imagined unhooking it to get an unobstructed view of her breasts. He licked his lips absent mindedly. Her skirt fell above the knee, hugging her hips and ass-showing off her toned legs. The way the fabric clung to her perfect ass, he would be willing to bet that she was wearing a thong. He needed to know everything about this woman. He needed to talk to her – touch her- taste her. He knew she she would taste amazing. He felt twitching and tightening in his pants. "Fuck" he thought. He was standing in front of a room of his employees and in 30 seconds the entire room would see his reaction to Olivia Pope. He shifted his weight between his two feet and slid his hands into his pockets. Sitting down would be submitting to her, something he didn't want to do. He was sure with a woman like Olivia, he needed to keep the upper hand. He really didn't have much of a choice – and he lowered himself into the seat at the head of the table. Olivia's eyes remained locked onto him. Luckily, everyone's eyes were on Olivia and no one noticed the monster growing in his pants. No one except for Olivia, who definitely noticed. She bit her bottom lip, trying to hide a tiny smile that was beginning to take its place on her face. She had him right were she wanted him. He was in a position where he had no other choice than to sit back and listen to her.

"The purple elephant, Mr. Grant, is that you can't keep it in your pants. Your penis is the problem here" she glanced at Cyrus, his mouth agape with shock. Fitz did not appreciate the irony of her statement at this particular moment, as he shifted in his seat.

"We are all adults here – we all read the paper- and there is no one in this room who doesn't know how you like to spend your Tuesday nights. I personally don't care how you spend your free time, but your customers do. You are running an online dating service. People are already self conscious about using a dating service. They certainly don't want to use an online dating service where the CEO frequents whores. They don't need the stigma using an paying for sex when they tell people that are looking for love on ."

"Well essentially..." Fitz began

"Don't say it" Olivia and Cyrus said in unison.

"Your investors are running in the other direction because no one wants to get caught up in a sex scandal. You want a solution to your problem, stop sleeping with whores"

"I don't patronize escorts anymore" Fitz managed "And I never will again." Fitz continued, the last part being entirely for her.

"Really?" Olivia said unconvinced as she reached into the bag slung over her shoulder. She pulled out a copy of the New York Times and slid it down the table with one eyebrow raised. Fitz's eyed the large picture of him holding a disheveled Michia upright and stumbling into his apartment building.

"She isn't an escort. She lives in my building. We had a few drinks, and I dropped her off at her apartment."

Olivia sounded unconvinced. "Uh huh." "OK, maybe I need to more clear. You need to stop spending your time with whores." He cleared his throat and tried to interrupt, but she continued. "Or women who look like they could be whores, at least until after the IPO hits the Stock Exchange"

Fitz sat back in his chair, nodding in agreement, but looked flushed. His eyes began to travel over Olivia's body once more. As his eyes made their way to her left hand, a sick feeling took over his entire body. On her ring finger, was a 3 carat emerald cut diamond. It looked far too large on her dainty finger. He felt as if a bucket of cold water was thrown over him.

"You are Senator Davis's wife? " he managed looking at her with a perplexed look on his face.

"Yes" she said coolly as her eyes narrowed "Does that make a difference?"

"No" he said as images of his last meeting with Edison and his "wife" rushed through his head. The woman that Edison introduced as his wife was much taller than Olivia's petite 5'2 frame. She had long straight blonde hair which contrasted with Olivia's soft black curls. Her porcelain skin paled in comparison to the allure of Olivia's creamy caramel skin. Fitz should have known. He was also meeting a "date" at the hotel bar. Fitz began feeling an irrational rage coursing through his veins. He met this beautiful, smart and sexy woman minutes ago, but it was love at first sight. She is meant to be his. She is the love of his life, but she is married to some douche-bag who is cheating on her. Who on earth would cheat on this woman?

"OK" she said, interrupting his thoughts. She looked into his eyes. They had changed – the look of lust being replaced with a look of sadness and anger. She realized that maybe she pushed too far – was too much of a bitch – was too in your face.

She looked around the room at the dozens of eyes eyes focused on her. No one else had noticed the sadness and anger that had taken up residence in Fitz's eyes. She wanted to hold him – comfort him- take away all the sadness. Fitz gazed into Olivia's beautiful brown eyes. He saw that the fire had been extinguished and her eyes were now filled with warmth and kindness.

"I want you all to be confident that I do not fail. We will gain public support, and support of investors. The IPO will be more successful than originally projected. I look forward to working with you all." she said smiling with her hands rested on her hips.

"I know we will all give Olivia our full support and make her feel welcome. That Is all for now" Cyrus said and people began to stand up and file out.

Olivia made her way back to Cyrus's office to wait for him. She needed a moment to allow her body to recover from Fitzgerald Grant. She sat on the brown leather couch on Cyrus's office – she heard familiar voices outside the door.

"Fire her Cyrus"

"Fitz, she is the best in the country. I warned you before I hired her that she is a pit bull and not a prom queen. She is brilliant."

Shocked, she stood up. As if on autopilot she walked over to the coat rack and unhooked her coat and purse.

"This is my company Cyrus. It is not up for debate. Fire her!" his voice boomed.

She was facing the two men, holding her coat draped over her arm. She walked closer to Cyrus, placed her hands onto his shoulders, lifted herself onto her tiptoes and gave Cyrus a kiss on the cheek. "Give James and Miss Ella my love." she said as she turned and began to walk away. As she passed by Fitz, her big brown eyed Fitz. If looks could kill, they would be planning his funeral right now. She increased her pace, and walked with determination toward the elevator.

"Liv" Cyrus called out. She didn't dare to look back.

"Olivia" he called again. She continued walking.

Cyrus turned to Fitz, "If you don't get her back, you will lose this company. You will lose it all. She is the only one who can save it. GET HER BACK!"

"Fine." Fitz growled. "How do you want me to get her back? I just fired her."

"Go after her! You'll figure something out."

Fitz turned to follow Olivia, but she was already out of sight.

"If she gets on a plane back to D.C. so help me god!" Cyrus snarled.

Olivia found her way to the elevator and looked up to see both elevators were hovering on low floors. She hit the down arrow hard with her index finger. She needed to get out of here.

"Mrs. Davis" Fitz called out as he caught a glimpse of Olivia in front of the elevators.

"Shit" she muttered under her breath. Off to her left, she saw the sign for the stairwell. She would have to climb down 76 flights down to the street level, but it was her only way to avoid another interaction with Fitzgerald Grant or worse being stuck in an elevator with him. She walked to the stairwell as fast as she could without breaking into a jog. She pushed the door open -"Elliptical, don't fail me now" she thought as she took off down the stairs.

Fitz made it to the lobby and looked into the waiting area. He turned to Alyssa, "Where the hell did she go?"

"She took the stairs" Alyssa said as the doors to the elevator slide open.

He looked at the open elevator and decided that he could take the elevator and make it to the lobby before she did. He stepped in and pressed the L.

The number 71 illuminated on the digital screen above the doors. "DING" and the door opened. Three women stepped into the elevator and selected number 36 from the panel.

"Shit" he thought to himself, realizing he hadn't taken into account the elevator stopping along the way. Still, he should make it to the lobby before she make it down 76 flights of stairs.

Ding- 55

Ding – 47

Ding- 36

Ding - 18

Ding -19

Ding – 6

With every floor he became more agitated. When the elevator doors opened into the lobby, he rushed out and cast his eyes toward the door of the stairwell. He made it before her. He let out an audible sign of relief. He looked around the lobby, and through the glass doors into the street. Reporters were still camped outside the the door. Through the reporters, his eyes focused on a leg being lifted into a yellow cab. He knew that leg. It was a leg that he had spent a good portion of the morning fantasizing about. Without thinking, he took off through the doors of the lobby, trying to stop the yellow cab before it took off into the crowded streets of the city. As soon as he stepped out of the protection of the lobby, the reporters surrounded him shouting questions and taking his picture. He pushed his way toward the street, toward where had last seen the cab – where he had last seen her.

"Damn it" he mumbled as he pulled his iPhone out of his pocket. Frustrated, he punched in the number to his office 76 floors above him.

"Good morning. This is the office of Fitzgerald Grant. How many I help you?" said a woman on the other end of the line.

"Hey Trisha. It's Fitz. Do we have an address for Olivia Davis?" he shouted into the phone, trying to drown out the reporters' shouting in the background.

"Olivia Davis? Who is that?" Lauren questioned.

"The fixer we hired. I am in a rush here Trisha. I need her address."

"Hang on Fitz. I'll check with Alyssa." she said as she put him on hold.

"OK Fitz. We are putting her up at the Le Parker Meridien until she gets settled into her apartment. It's on West 56th . I don't have the room number, but if you need it I can get it for you."

"Thanks Trisha. When you get the room number, text me." He muttered. "I need the car out front ASAP. Actually, forget it. I'll take a cab." Fitz hated taking cabs, but he decided that with a woman this volatile, she could be in back in D.C. by the time his car pulled around. He stepped onto the curb, hastily raising two fingers into the air, while still gripping his iPhone in his left hand. A cab came screeching to a stop in front of Fitz. Maneuvering the phone into a grasp that would leave his index finger free, he wrapped his free finger around the door handle and began to pull. His brain registered a thick sticky substance on his fingers and he immediately pulled back, his phone slipping out of his hand. He looked annoyed between his finger and the ground. There was no visible ick on his hand , so he quickly bent down to pick up the phone from the hard NY pavement. He shoved the phone into his pocket, pulled open the door of the waiting cab and slid in.

"Where to?" said the driver in a thick accent.

"West 56th. The Le Parker Meridien"

Fitz sat back into the vinyl bench seat and rubbed his temples. Ping- Fitz heard the alert tone of his phone and slid his right hand into his pocket. He wrapped his finger tips around the ridges of his Griffin Survivor case and tugged it out of his pocket. His eyes focused in on the cracks spidering across the screen of the phone. He looked at the screen in disbelief. Before buying the case, he had watched a YouTube video showing how incredibly durable this it was. In the video, the case protected the phone from a Hummer plowing over it. It could protect his phone from a Hummer, but not from the whirlwind that is Olivia Davis. Of course it wasn't her fault, but in his mind, she was directly responsible. He looked at the time through the cracked glass- 10:42. In 72 minutes, this woman has turned his life completely upside down. 72 minutes ago, he became hers. He tried to fire her- he tried to reclaim his life. Now, he needs a new plan, a new way to survive working with Olivia Davis, but first he needs to win her back.


	5. The Seasons Already Changing

Chapter 5 The Seasons Already Changing

Thank you so much for the reviews!

Olivia hobbled into her hotel room and kicked off her black Christian Louboutins. Olivia was physically fit, but running down 75 flights of stairs would get the best of anyone, not to mention the 1 flight that she slid down on her ass after falling. She walked into the bedroom, began ripping off her clothes and placed them in the laundry bag hanging in the closet.

Fitz was several floors below texting back and forth with his secretary Trisha.

Trisha: Sorry Fitz, but they won't give me her room number.

Fitz: Did you tell them that we are paying for the room, we just need to know which room?

Trisha: Yup. I tried everything. Sorry. :(

Fitz Thnx

Trisha: Np

Fitz opened his wallet and pulled a $100 bill out of his wallet. He walked toward the front desk where 3 couples were waiting to be assisted. Four hotel employees worked behind the desk, two young men, one young woman and an older woman. As he waited in the line, he decided he would have the best chance with one the young woman and he prepared to appeal to her sense of romance. He was next. Joshua, the young man at the counter motioned for Fitz to come over.

"May I help you Sir?"

"I need a room number for Olivia Davis."

I'm sorry sir, but I am not authorized to give out a guest's room number."

Fitz wasn't deterred. "Would it be possible for me to leave her a message at the front desk?"

"Of course sir." Joshua said as he reached for a piece of paper and handed it to Fitz.

Fitz lifted the pen from the counter, folded the paper in half and wrote on the front:

**Your assistance in this matter is appreciated. Olivia Davis's room number is _**

He tucked a crisp $100 bill into the paper and pushed it toward the hotel employee. Joshua read the note, and then lifted up the top of the paper to expose the $100 bill.

Joshua pushed it back toward Fitz. "I am sorry sir."

Fitz opened his wallet, pulled out another $100 bill and placed it on top of the first bill. He pushed it back across the counter.

Joshua removed the bills and smiled. He typed furiously into the computer, scribbled 615 onto the sheet of paper and passed it back towards Fitz. "As I said sir, we are not able to give out any information about our guests. If there was an Olivia Davis Pope staying with us, I would not be able to confirm or deny that", he said loudly enough for his co-workers to hear.

Fitz grabbed the paper. "Thanks anyway" Fitz said as he headed toward the elevators.

Olivia's entire body was aching. Olivia made the decision that she needed to get dressed and come up with a realistic solution to her problem. She put on her favorite pair of J Brand dark wash skinny jeans and cream colored camisole that barely met the waist band of her jeans. She threw a gray open work sweater onto the bed before beginning to pace in small circles around the bedroom. She didn't want to go back home and have to explain to Edison that she had been fired. Even if she hadn't been fired, she wouldn't want to go home – after their fight, she doesn't even want to talk to him. He has been calling her all day and she has been hitting ignore all day. He isn't giving up. The calls keep coming and so do the texts. The texts are all some variation of: Baby, I miss you- Please talk to me. Her response is always the same: Delete Ignore Delete. He thinks that she is his, an object sent by God to stroke his ego, or something to play with when he gets bored or horny.

She walks over to the mini bar and pulls out two mini bottles of vodka and a can of Diet Coke. She glances at her watch and sighs. "Damn, it isn't even lunch time yet. I guess I am having a well deserved liquid brunch today" she thought to herself. She grabbed a water bottle that she normally takes to the gym out of her suitcase. She pours in the two bottles of vodka and the can of Diet Coke into the container and screws the lid back on. She took a big gulp when she heard knocking. She shoved her phone into her pocket and grabbed her sweater off the bed. She looked through the peep hole and saw Fitz standing in front of her door. His curls were messy and he looked less composed that he did earlier this morning. He continued to knock. She wished that she could hit ignore or delete and make Fitz disappear. "I know your in there. Would you please open the door?" She looked up to the heavens, inhaled deeply and began to pull her sweater over her head. She opened the door inhaling deeply again, but this time, she caught his scent. She felt her pulse quicken and had trouble catching her breathe. Her eyes immediately focused in on his crotch. "Oh my God" she thought to herself. "You are actually staring at the man's crotch. STOP IT. ". In her defense, she wanted to see if he was having the same reaction to her as she was to him. She was saying a silent prayer that Fitz wouldn't notice that she had been staring at his crotch. And he didn't. He was to busy noticing her. She stood before him in her bare feet. Her jeans that clung to her body like a second skin- her sweater that barely covered anything. He thanked god for the peekaboo holes that allowed him visual access to her naked flesh. The shimmering thread in the sweater complimented the glow radiating from her skin beneath the sweater. The sweater hung down off one shoulder giving him an unobstructed view of her bare shoulder – it was inviting him to shower it with kissed – inviting him to move up her neck – to suck it hard -to lick it- to leave marks claiming her as his. His eyes traveled back down her body and stopped midway. Through the sweater, he was able to see the skin of her toned stomach peeking out between her camisole and her jeans. He could feel the twitching in his pants again quickly shoved his hands in his pockets and tried to think of every unattractive thought he could think of. He thought back to this morning, and the feeling that washed over him when he saw the ring that another man had put on her finger. That did it, like throwing him into a frozen lake, it felt like his cock might be shrinking at the thought.

Olivia regained her composure and stared at him expectantly. "Can I help you?" she said pointedly.

"I'm sorry Mrs. Davis."

"Pope" she interrupted.

"What?"

"My name is Olivia Pope, not Davis."

Inexplicably, this brought a smile to his face. "Noted." He continued, " Ms. Pope, I apologize for firing you. I shouldn't have had that reaction and I definitely shouldn't have fired you "

"No problem" Olivia said forcing a small smile.

Fitz was very pleased with himself. "I am like the woman whisperer" he thought to himself. "I can have a car here in 15 minutes to take us back. I'll wait in the lobby. You can come down as soon as you are ready."

"Is he fucking serious?" Olivia thought to herself.

"Why did you fire me?" she asked not waiting for an answer.

"I have a life," she stepping closer to him, and invading his personal space, "A life that I am walking away from to do a favor for my good friend Cyrus Beene. He asked me because I am good – I am brilliant."

She as so close – he could feel the warmth radiating from her body and her warm breath as she spoke. He put his hands back into his pockets.

"I would eat, breathe and live Fitzgerald Grant every minute of every day" she said briefly breaking eye contact with him to sneak a peek at his chest looking back into his eyes. You would be lucky to have me. Just because you don't like hearing the truth about yourself isn't my problem. It is your loss

Mr. Grant. You – Fired – Me If you want me back, EARN ME" and with that she took a few steps back and slammed the door in his face.

Fitz was stood in utter disbelief, still trying to hide his arousal for this woman. "What the hell just happened?" Fitz wondered. He stood in that spot, replaying the entire interaction over in his head. "Earn her? How the hell am I supposed to do that?" he wondered. First things first, get rid of this erection. He stood in that spot, thinking of every unappealing thought he could muster, but his mind back to the tiny area of exposed stomach peeking out seemly just for him. He could imagine kissing and licking it – sucking and biting it on his way down..." Then an image of the ring flashed through his mind. "It is like fucking anti-Viagra" he thought.

She walked away from the door, grabbed her "water bottle" and began to retreat toward the bedroom. Her entire body was so sore, she decided that an extra bottle of vodka would probably ease the pain. She she stopped in front of the mini bar to grab another bottle, closed her eyes and tried to recover from her latest encounter with Fitzgerald Grant. "Who the hell do these men think they are?" she wondered. As if on cue, she heard knocked. She decided to ignore him until he went away. Her body had all the Fitzgerald Grant it could take for one day. The knocking became louder. Olivia Pope doesn't hide- she's a gladiator – she fights. For the first time since she was married, she felt like herself, like Olivia Pope. "I'm a force of nature, I'm a gladiator." she reminded herself. She stood up as the knocking increased in volume and walked over to where she had kicked her heels off earlier in the day. Olivia stepped into her Christian Louboutins rising up like a cobra preparing to strike it's prey. Her phone began to ring, and Fitz began to pound at the door. Olivia glanced at her phone: Edison. She reached for the door number and swung it open. The pounding stopped. As the door swung open, she hit accept on her cell phone. "What" she said in a no nonsense tone while raising one finger toward Fitz essentially stopping him in his tracks. Fitz wasn't entirely sure to whom the "What" was directed to; but he was relatively certain that it was whoever she was talking to on the phone. Judging from her pissed off tone, he assumed it was Cyrus. Fitz didn't dare to move.

"**Liv, don't be like this"** she heard come through the phone.

"**Don't be like what? A woman with a brain? With goals? With self respect?" **she said pointedly.

"**Liv, come on cut me some slack here!"**

" **What – do – you – want – Edison?**" she said stepping closer to Fitz still holding up her finger, forcing him to take a step back.

"**Baby, I'm sorry." **

Liv takes a step back with her finger still raised and closes the door slowly locking him back out into the hallway. Fitz stands motionless, not sure if he should stay, leave, or knock again. "Sounds like trouble in paradise" Fitz thought smiling. He wondered if Olivia found out about cheating. He wondered if they were divorcing. He wondered how long until he could make his move. Would she even be interested?

"**Edison, I am working" **she lied** "And you aren't sorry. You meant every word of what you said, and I meant every word of what I said." **

"**I didn't complain when you went to California to help with Reston's campaign." **she rolled her eyes – actually he did complain.

"**I don't care if you work Liv. If you want to work, you can work in D.C."**

"**Edison, I am working and I don't have time for this. I work from 9-6, so you will need to save your bullshit until after 6. "**

"**I'm working too Liv. I'm making time for you – for us."**

"Funny, I could be laying in a gutter somewhere and he wouldn't be able to pull himself away from his job – now that it suits him, he has all the time in the world" Liv thought to herself. She chose her next words very carefully and began to open the door to find Fitz standing in the same spot. She raised her finger again and turned her back to Fitz.

"**Well then I guess playing Senator isn't nearly as time consuming as being "Business Girl Barbie" as you so eloquently put it. **

Edison began to speak, and in a scathing tone spoke slowly into the phone ** "Hold on" **and with that she hit the mute button.

She lowered her finger, still holding her iPhone in her hand with Edison mute. Fitz wasn't having any trouble with an erection standing in front of Olivia now. Truth be told, she was scaring the shit out of him.

"_Listen Ms. Pope, I'm not sure I'd be able to convince you to come back to work for me even if I was the only one who pissed you off today but I have no chance of winning here when you are pissed at the …."_

"_Say what you need to say and then leave me the hell alone."_ she said with a scowl. She knew she was being a bitch, but her body was aching and she was tired of dealing with men who didn't appreciate her.

Most women would say that fighting two battles simultaneously was impossible. But, Olivia Pope is not most women. She is a gladiator – and these aren't battles, they are full on wars. Finally, Olivia is shaking off the cobwebs, and in full Olivia Pope style taking names and kicking ass.

He looked down at her, _"You are right."_

"_Obviously"_ she retorted, but what specifically was I right about?

With a goofy smile he moved closer to her lips, almost like he was going to scoop her up and kiss her. _"I agree with every word you said in that meeting – very astute. And you're right, I would be lucky to have you." _

Silence She looked into his eyes, and he looked into hers. Her eyes soften darting back and forth nervously and both of their breathing quickened in unison. She felt a flutter in her stomach and began to feel light headed. He hung his head, and took a step forward. She took a nervous step backwards and held up her finger again. She needed to catch her breath. Was he saying what she thought he was saying? She lifted her phone, hit the mute button again, lifted the phone and turned her back to Fitz.

"**I need to go." **she managed and she clicked the end button.

Olivia began to pace in circles around the room. Fitz stepped into the room and closes the door behind him.

"I'll double whatever I'm paying you."

She stopped pacing and spun around to face him. That comment allowed her to rebound – the butterflies from a few seconds ago were gone. "Is he fucking kidding me? May God have mercy on his soul" she thought before going in for the kill.

Her eyes were a window into her soul. When he met her, she had the saddest eyes he had ever seen. He had seen confusion and hurt in her eyes, but also kindness. The eyes that were focused on him now were filled with rage. He knew he was toast.

"I'm sorry Mr. Grant, but I am not for sale. I can not be paid for like one of your whores. I said earn me, not buy me"

Fitz was defeated. He knew it was the final nail in his coffin, and Olivia pounded it in with the biggest mallet should could find.

"Did you call for your car yet?" she asked.

Fitz nodded – he had called for the car when he had been thrown out the first time.

"Great. You can show yourself out and hail yourself a cab. My severance package can be the use of your car for the rest of the day. I will be checking out of here today, but unfortunately for you, I've already raided he mini bar."

"OK." he said looking confused. He knew he should stop before she severed his manhood , but he continued, "Why are you checking out?"

"You are paying for this room as part of my employment. Since I don't work for you anymore, I will need to find another room."

He wished he was wearing a protective cup before making the next statement, but he pressed on. "I only get a half an hour to try to earn you? I'm going to need more time than that! My company needs you, I need you. It is much harder to earn you if I don't know where you are" he said looking at her like someone had just kicked his puppy. "You can stay here and come up with brilliant ideas to save my company on the off chance that we are lucky enough to get you to come back." he said flashing the Grant smile that made her melt a little inside.

"I already turned down your offer Mr. Grant"

Her feet were throbbing – her entire body was aching and she couldn't stand in these heels for another second. She plopped down ready to continue her verbal attack on Fitz. Instead a little whimper escaped her lips before she was able to contain it and pain flashed through her eyes. She was sore since she ran the marathon down the stairs, but she hadn't felt this intense pain before now. She figured her adrenaline was keeping the pay at bay.

Fitz moved closer and knelt in front of her and looking at her with genuine concern he asked, "Olivia, are you OK?"

"Yes, I'm fine." she managed, trying to act as naturally as possible.

"No, you aren't. What's wrong?"

"Nothing's wrong. Like I said, you can show yourself out." she was willing herself not to show the tiniest bit of pain in her expression, but her eyes were betraying her.

"Olivia, What- Is- Wrong? " he said more forcefully.

"I fell down a flight of stairs." she said with a tiny bit of embarrassment. "I didn't realize I even got hurt until now. I guess when I sat down, I aggravated the spot that I hit before."

"Only you would fall down a flight of stairs and not mention anything. Where is the pain?"

"No where. It was a split second thing." she lied, turning her head to avert her eyes. "There is no way in hell that I am telling this man that I hurt my ass" she thought to herself. "Even if it were a fatal ass injury, I would die protecting my dignity" she thought, always having a flair for the dramatic in her own head.

"Come on Olivia. You aren't fine. You look like you are going to throw up."

"Did he just go from Ms. Pope, to Olivia?", she wondered. She liked how it sounded when he said her name – when he was concerned about her. "Oh God. I'm married and he is my ex employer - an employer who fired me and gets hardons when he looks at me and I am getting woozy when he calls me by my name." the thoughts were swirling through her mind.

"It's just my lower back. I bumped it when I fell."

"Let's have a look." he said leaning into her, wrapping his arm behind her with his fingers grasping at the bottom of her sweater.

He touched her and she actually stopped breathing. She flinched and her body tensed. "BREATHE" she thought to her self. He was so close that she could smell his cologne. He was touching her, and her body was betraying her – she could feel her panties instantly dampen. She swatted at his hand – pushing him away.

"I said I'm fine and I believe that you were leaving." she said giving him a get out now look.

He put his fingers under her chin, and lifted it up so that she was looking into his eyes. "I'm concerned Olivia." She knew that he was sincere. He really was concerned about her. But he was touching her again.

He stood up. "Here", he said extending his hand to help her up. She winced again in pain.

"You go check it out. If you need me, I'm right here. OK?"

She nodded and made her way over to the bathroom where a full length mirror was attached to the back of the door. She turned around and undid the button of her jeans. With her left hand, she gently pulled down the back waist band of her jeans and slightly lifted the camisole up with her right.

"Damn it" she muttered. She pulled her jeans farther down along with underwear as she gently touched the huge bruise that extended from her lower back to the center of her ass. Her left ass cheek was completely black and blue with a matching football sized bruise on her left thigh. "Damn Damn Damn" She gently pulled her pants back up and was in the process of buttoning them – her sweater still bunched midway up her back- when Fitz walked in to check on her.

"Shit Liv" he said as he ran over to her. She quickly pulled down her camisole and sweater.

" It's just a little bruise" she tried to smile at him but he could see the worry in her eyes.

"Don't try to tell me to tell me that your fine!" He held out his hand and guided her to the bed. "Lay on your stomach, unless of course you have some gunshot wounds on your stomach that your trying to hide"

She couldn't help but to laugh. If he wasn't annoying the hell out of her by trying to take care of her, he would be sort of endearing.

"Stay here and I'll be back with some ice."

Within minutes he was back at her side with a bag of ice that he was wrapping in a towel and gently placing on her back. He grabbed a pillow and placed it under her head to make her more comfortable.

"Do you want the TV on?"

"Sure" she said as it would be a good distraction so that she wouldn't have to make small talk. He handed her the remote and she flipped through the channels until she stopped at CNN. He sat next to her on the bed and they watched a report Iran's nuclear program. He looked over at her and took in her beauty- sunlight streaming in through the window and illuminating her soft curls. There were so many times he wanted to run his hands through her hair, or pepper her bare shoulder with a thousand soft kisses. "Why does this incredible woman have to be married? Why didn't I find her first?" he wondered. Fitz was a lot of things, but he wasn't the kind of guy to break up a marriage, even if the woman of his dreams was married to a douche-bag liked Edison. He thought back to the phone conversation he had heard earlier – Maybe the marriage was already over.

"Feeling any better?" he asked her after a few minutes

"It really didn't hurt much to begin with" she lied.

He gently lifted the ice off of her back and moved her sweater and camisole up to get a good look at the bruise. He could see that most of her lower back was bruised and swollen. There were a few scrapes presumably where she hit the stairs. He couldn't help himself- he reached out and gently ran his finger tips over the bruise. He was able to feel her muscles tense, and her attempt to move from underneath his finger tips.

"OK. Calm down killer" he joked. "How far down does this bruise go?" He said in a more serious tone but added a wink to keep things light.

"Half way down my ass and part of my leg" she mumbled.

"I don't suppose you are going to let me check it out? - he knew he was pushing his luck.

"We are going to need to go some X-Rays. I'm not a doctor, but I think there is a good chance that you broke something."

She needed him to leave. The simple act of him touching her bruise was making her head foggy and her panties damp.

"Mr .Grant, I'm fine. I don't know how many different ways that I can say the same thing. I managed to make it down 5 more flights of stairs and back to my hotel room after I fell. If I decided later on that I do in fact need a doctor, I'm a big girl. I can get there all by myself. You have meetings toady and a company to run. You need to go and do that."

"There are more important things than business Olivia."

It was like she was stuck in an alternate universe – This was something that she said to Edison on several occasions.

He stood up and looked down at her. "You can walk on your own, or I will pick you up and carry you - but you are going to the hospital."

"Fine!"

She agreed that she should probably get an X-Ray, but she didn't want Fitzgerald Grant to be the one to take her. When he was around, her brain was in a fog of desire – as soon as he left, she was able to think rationally again. She couldn't figure out why he was so interested in taking care of her. It wasn't like she was his responsibility – it wasn't like he pushed her down the steps – was this all an act to get her to come back to work for his company?

She looked up at him from the bed, "Why are you here?"

She expected some bullshit answer, but instead, he bent down, and looked deep into her eyes. "Because this is where I want to be." He leaned close, practically touching her, he considered kissing her forehead, but Olivia was too unpredictable to take risks like that.

She didn't pull back, she didn't flinch – she just closed her eyes. It had been so long since someone gave a shit about her, since someone actually cared. She kept her eyes shut tightly to hold back the tears. When she finally opened them, he was was still looking at her. "OK" she said with the slightest smile.

He extended his hand and helped her onto her feet. She started to walk toward the closet, "Where the hell are you going? " Fitz asked

"I need my shoes, coat and purse."

He took her by the arm, "Come on. I'll get them for you. Just please sit and down and relax."

He managed to find her coat hanging in the closet and her purse on the dresser. He remembered that her shoes were near the couch where she had kicked them off.

"Here we are ma'am." he said handing her the coat and her purse. He grabbed her shoes, knelt down and began to put them on her.

With her foot in his hand, he thought about kissing and sucking his way from her foot up to her hot wet pussy. He would explore every inch of her with his tongue and teeth – sucking her clit and licking her folds. He could imagine her face as her eyes closed and she screamed his name. The way she was looking at him, he knew she was wet, not just in his imagination, but in reality. He could almost taste her. He knew that there was a real chance that he would never taste her, never experience her wetness first hand. There was a real chance that she would have to be a fantasy, something he would never be able to experience.

"Um, I can't wear those" she said snapping him from his daydream.

"Why not?"

"I ran down 76 flights of stairs in those – Do they look like running shoes to you? My feet are killing me." she said with her eyebrows raised and an apologetic smile.

"OK. What pair do you want and where can I find them?"

"I have brown riding boots in the bedroom. They're in the large suitcase that is on the rack in the bedroom"

She was able to hear him rummaging around in the suitcase. He was taking forever. "How long does it take to find riding boots in a suitcase full of...Oh my God." It hit her like a ton of bricks. How could she have forgotten that the contents of the large suitcase included her underwear, and a few special outfits in case Edison came to visit once they made up? The color drained from her face.

"Never mind, she called. I'll wear these." she called pray that he would just give up and come out.

He came out with a pair of brown riding boots in his hands and a big smile on his face.

"Damn Livvie, I had no idea that you were a business on the outside and party underneath kind of girl", he said with a chuckle. "The little black lacy thong with the ties on the side almost finished me off right there."

"I can see that" she said disapprovingly making sure that he noticed that her eyes focused on raging erection.

She was loosening up a little bit around him, and he knew he could joke with her about her stash of sexy panties.

"You let me know next time you are wearing them Livvie" he said with a wink.

"Livvie? No one calls me Livvie."

"I do" he said with a wry smile.

She wondered if she should tell him that she was wearing the exact same pair of panties in white, but decided against it.

"Edison is one lucky man. I have no idea how he managed to land you." he said, knowing that bringing Edison into the conversation would put an end to his erection problem.

At the the mention of Edison, her eyes became sad again, even though she had a smile pasted onto her face.

He knelt down in front of her again with the riding boots next to him on the floor. She started to giggle.

"I need socks with those"

He reached into the right boot and pulled out a pair of trouser socks. "I'm full service Livvie" he said with a wink.

"I see that." she said reaching for the socks.

He shook his head and pulled the socks back. "Sit back and relax. Like I said, full service."

He lifted her left foot and used his thumbs to massage the sole of her foot while he pulled her sock on. She tried to pull her foot out of his grip, but he held onto it as he reached for her boot. He slowly slid the boot onto her foot and pulled them midway up her calf. She swallowed hard, realizing for the first time just how dry her mouth was. She looked toward the door as he repeated the process with her right foot.

"Ready?" he asked as he held out his hand to help her off the couch.

"Yeah, let's get this over with." she said. She picked up her coat off of the couch and slung her purse over her shoulder. She walked to the door with Fitz following closely behind her.

"So do you want to take the elevator or would you prefer the stairs?" he said with a chuckle.

"Wow, that's funny. You're a funny man. You should quit your job and go on the road."

Fitz couldn't help but smile. This woman put gave new meaning to "putting up walls". Her walls were surrounded by a moat and in that moat were alligators. But, he could feel her walls coming down. She was letting him in – a little bit.

** I hope you all enjoy this chapter. I know it is a little bit long and probably not what you were expecting, but I really enjoyed writing it.

*I know some of you are going to question how she didn't know that she injured herself. Last year, I ran the Dirty Girl run and broke my tailbone half way through. I had no idea I was hurt until about 30 minutes after the race because of the Adrenaline.


	6. I'm Easy

Chapter 6 I'm Easy

**I am sorry this chapter took so long. I had the entire thing written and then overwrote the file and had to start over. It was originally a longer chapter, but I decided to make it two shorter chapters. Thank you for all the reviews. I really enjoy reading them. :)**

As the Town Car stopped in front of St. Luke's Emergency Room, Fitz stepped out onto the curb, and turned to help Olivia out of the car. He bent down, peering into the back seat and noticed that she hadn't made much progress toward the door.

"Are you OK in there?" he asked noticing that she appeared to be lost in deep thought.

"Fine" she said grabbing her tote and slinging it over her left shoulder.

She placed her palms flush against the soft leather seats, locked her elbows to bear her weight, gently lifted her body off the seat and attempted to scoot toward the door on her hands.

Fitz walked around the back of the car, and slid into the back seat to the left of Olivia. Although he had only met her this morning, he knew that was fiercely independent and that helping her out of the car was going to take some convincing. Fitz looked at her with his best "cut the shit" look and tried to fight the smile that appeared any time he laid eyes on her.

"Give me your purse."

"It doesn't go with your outfit Mr. Grant." she said lowering herself back down onto the seat. She squared he shoulders, and looked at him impassively while her tote remained secure on her left arm.

Fitz exhaled in feigned frustration, "Olivia, Give me your purse."

"Why?" she countered.

"Because I am out of lip-gloss, so I decided to steal yours. " he teased her.

She bit her bottom lip, stifling a giggle. He watched intently, her teeth gently biting on her full bottom lip – causing him to squirm in his seat. He wanted to taste that lip – to suck it – to bite it as he traveled down her naked body. His eyes turned from a soft blue to a steely gray

She watched his eyes change before her – although she couldn't quite place the emotion so evident in his eyes. Whatever it was, she had to look away. She slowly slid the tote off of her shoulder and shoved it toward him.

"Mr. Grant, What you enjoy in your spare time, is your business, but please remember, I prefer to fix one problem at a time. So if you could hold off on the public revelation that you enjoy wearing women's lip gloss, that would be great!" she shot back deadpan as some of the pain in her eyes dissipated.

"Deal, but there is only so long I will be able to hide my passion for strawberry lip-gloss." he said with a smile while placing her bag to his left.

She smiled back and began to attempt to lift herself off of the seat again. Fitz extended his hands and gently wrapped them around her hips. His large hands covered her tiny frame almost to her navel. Her body became rigid at his touch. He smiled to himself. He was having an effect on her too. He was able to feel fabric of her camisole and the soft skin of her stomach through the open stitches in her sweater. The contrast on his fingertips between her soft skin and the rough fabric sent an intense jolt through his body.

"I'm going to lift you up and help you out. OK?" he said as he tightened his fingers around her waist.

She nodded, not sure she could manage the words, even after such an innocent touch. Now it was her turn to squirm in the seat. She could feel the liquid pooling her in panties.

His body was on autopilot, and without thinking, he gently slid her sweater up and slipped his hands underneath before placing them firmly on her hips. She felt two fingers pushing into the skin between her skin and camisole. Her skin got hot and prickly, - she instantly flushed - her nipples were poking into into the soft fabric of her bra. She sent up a silent prayer that Fitz wasn't noticing her body's reaction to his touch. She turned her head to look at him, her big brown eyes wide and shocked. She looked at him, but his eyes were closed and a satisfied smile was lingering on his lips.

Fitz felt a vibration against his thigh, opening his eyes to find Olivia turning her head quickly.

"I think your phone is ringing, Olivia."

Her phone has been buzzing nonstop all morning. It was getting on her nerves. She had told Edison that she would talk to him after work and yet he continued to call and text. All the wetness from Fitz began to evaporate thinking of Edison.

"It is in the side pocket." she said holding out her hand.

He removed his hands from her hips and riffled through the side pocket of her bag. He grabbed the phone, and glanced at the screen as he handed it over to her. He managed to see the alert for 24 missed calls and 61 text messages.

"You are a popular lady" he quipped as she shut down the phone and handed it back to him.

He shoved the phone back into her purse and replaced his hands onto her hips. In unison, they quietly exhaled the sexual tension building up in both of them, as he gently lifted her and guided her toward the open door. She righted herself on the curb praying to God that her wetness from the car wasn't evident on her jeans. Fitz followed her before leaning back into the car and grabbing her purse. He made a mental note that whenever the opportunity presented itself, he would let her get out of the car first – knowing he would be rewarded with a 2 second unobstructed view of her beautiful ass – another part of her body that in addition to her lips, he would love to suck, lick and bite.

Fitz lead Olivia through the glass doors and toward the registration desk. At the desk sat a middle aged nurse with her hair pulled back tightly in a bun.

Without looking up at them, she asked matter of factly, "Name?"

"Olivia Pope"

"Reason for your visit?"

"I fell down some stairs and I'm experiencing some back pain."

"Take a seat and fill these out. You can bring them back when you are finished" she said, for the first time looking up from her desk as she shoved the paperwork toward Olivia. Her eyes moved onto Fitz and she began to blush. "It's you!" said in a high pitched squeak. Fitz extended his hand toward the nurse and flashed her the Grant smile. "Nice to meet you and thank you for your help." he said. "A doctor will be right with you both." she replied as they turned to walk away. Olivia rolled her eyes at Fitz.

He surveyed the waiting room before leading her to the far left corner, away from any patrons that were hacking up a lung. Olivia sat down, wincing, and placed her bag on a small brown table to her right and began to fill out the forms. Fitz noticed that between questions, she would pick her head up and look around the room -her eyes filled with sadness. She finally finished completing the forms and walked them back to the registration desk while Fitz held their seats. She walked back to the seats slowly, almost in a fog, remembering the last time she sat alone and scared in the waiting room of the ER. Fitz watched her intently, noting her slumping shoulders – she looked like a shell of the woman he had seen earlier in the morning. She slowly slid into the seat next to next to Fitz.

There was an awkward silence between them. Olivia sat solemnly – head bowed, look at her fidgeting hands in her lap. Fitz looked around the room, perplexed by the sudden change in her mood. He was desperate to break the silence and lighten her mood.

"Ms. Pope, it is a company tradition to take our employees to an upscale lunch on their first day. Are you hungry?"

"A little bit...but.." she began before Fitz stood up, extending her hand and cut off her thought.

"Then please let me treat you to a lunch of your choice." he said with a wry smile.

Olivia couldn't make heads or tails out of the events unfolding before her. He had forced her to come to the hospital, and now he wanted to leave so that he could take her to lunch? She had already registered to be seen, and she certainly wasn't dressed to go anywhere even remotely considered upscale.

With trepidation, she followed Fitz as he led her into a small room with a vending machine sign that hung overhead.

"Mr. Grant, I'm not sure if I'm dressed for a place like this." she said with a giggle as she looked at the three vending machines in front of her.

"You look beautiful, Ms. Pope. Now, the world is your oyster. Choose whatever would make you happy – price is no object.", he said with a wink.

She stepped forward and looked at the contents of the vending machines before her. She took a few steps back, unzipped her her purse and took a bill out of her wallet. Fitz stepped in front of Olivia and snatched the bill out of her hand.

"I thought I told you, Ms. Pope, it is company policy to _treat_ our new employees to lunch" he said stuffing the bill back into her purse that was hanging off of her arm.

"Mr. Grant, I think you forget that I am not your employee. Besides, this is far to extravagant." she said playfully.

" It is true that without you as my employee I am on the verge of losing millions, but I think I can afford to buy you lunch." he said stepping closer to her.

"Now, Ms. Pope, what would make you happy?"

"A Kind bar and a bottle of water please."

He took another step closer into her personal space. She wanted to step back, but her body wouldn't move -instead she inhaled sharply -gasping for the air that had momentarily escaped her lungs when he invaded her space. He tilted his head down, his light blue eyes glued to hers.

"I wanted to know what would make you happy Olivia, not what you think you think you should choose." He took another step forward until their bodies were almost touching . She could feel the heat from his breath and she looked up at him, feeling her breath quickening.

"I'll ask you again, what would make you happy Olivia?"

She was positive he wasn't talking about lunch anymore. Her big brown eyes widened and gazed into his in silence. Her head is foggy and she can't think straight when he is this close- looking this good. No man has ever had this effect on her -not even Edison she thought guiltily. Here she was, standing far to close to a man that is not her husband, fantasizing about running her fingers through his curly locks, while a waterfall was unleashed below her waist. She struggled to find her voice.

Raising her eyebrows and lightly biting her bottom lip, "Chocolate cupcakes and a Diet Coke." she managed before looking down to the floor embarrassed.

"Chocolate cupcakes and Diet Coke are what makes you happy?" he said amused.

"Mmmm Hmmmm" she murmured. "I'm easy."

"Good to know, but all evidence points to the contrary Ms. Pope", he said flashing her the Grant smile that made her heart melt.

Taking a bill out of his wallet, he stepped forward and placed it into the machine before pressing his selections. Fitz bent down to retrieve the snacks. Olivia couldn't tear herself away from the sight before her, noticing how firm and muscular his ass looked. As he began to stand, she quickly turned her head. He turned around and walked back toward her with an armful of assorted snacks.

"Hungry?" she asked with a shy smile.

"Yes, I am. But I couldn't find anything in there to make me happy." he said stepping into her personal space again – less than an inch between their bodies. "You told me that I had to earn you Ms. Pope, and that is precisely what I am doing. I saw your eyes light up when you saw those cupcakes, Ms. Pope. Perhaps you get equally excited over other types of junk food.", he said with a wry smile while handing her several packages.

"Mr. Grant, I turned down a raise and you think that you can earn me with chocolate cupcakes and a can of Diet Coke?"

"Absolutely not, Ms. Pope. However, these are not regular chocolate cupcakes. Perhaps you didn't notice that they are chocolate CREAM filled cupcakes." he said lifting the package of cupcakes from her arms and showing her the label.

Olivia giggled and Fitz saw a glimmer in her eye that he had not seen before. He loves her giggle – he loves her smile – he loves the glimmer in her eye – he loves her – he needs her - he wants her.

"I am however confident that I can _earn_ you with chocolate _cream_ filled cupcakes and a _bottle_ of Diet Coke." he said as he turned to the soda machine and inserted the money. He grabbed the water and bottle of Coke and turned to face Olivia.

"Mr. Grant, it is obvious that you finally realize how valuable I would be to your company. Now you are pulling out the big guns." she said in the most serious voice she could muster. "No one has ever tried to earn me with chocolate cupcakes." she said smiling up at him.

"Cream filled cupcakes and a bottle of Coke, Olivia. I am a powerful CEO not just your average guy on the street."

"Noted." she said smiling as he walked and she hobbled back to their seats in the waiting room.

Olivia sat down in her chair while Fitz pulled a colored handkerchief out of his breast pocket and laid it onto the small brown table next to Olivia. She placed the packages onto the table while Fitz took a seat on the other side of the table to face Olivia. He placed the bottles into the center of the table before grabbing a package of mini powdered donuts, a bag of Doritos and a bag of Lay's potato chips. Olivia followed suit dragging her cupcakes and Diet Coke toward her. She thought for a minute before she announced, "I haven't had these in years.", and snatched a bag of salt and vinegar chips.

Fitz watched her as she ripped open the package of cupcakes – her eyes dancing like a child's on Christmas morning. Slowly, she picked up the cupcake, brought it to her lips, and inhaled the scent before biting into the moist cake. He gazed at her – this was his Olivia - so happy – so carefree. He noted the sadness in her eyes earlier when Edison had called. "I am going to earn her- make her mine- and that fucker will never hurt her again.", Fitz thought to himself.

"Mmmmmm" she moaned quietly as her eyes closed briefly.

"Are they any good?"

"Mmmmm hmmmm" she practically purred.

"I guess I will have to try them sometime.", he said placing a mini donut into his mouth and chewing.

"Do you want a bite a bite of my cupcake, Mr. Grant?" she asked in a tone that was a little sexier than she had intended it to be.

"Just a bite?"

"Yes." she said pulling the package toward her. "I only have two." she teased. "I will give you a bite of my cupcake for one of those powered donuts."

"Oh, so now this is a negotiation? That doesn't seem like a fair trade Ms. Pope. I am sure your cupcakes are delicious, but I only get a taste when you get to enjoy an entire donut."

" I think it is extra generous on my part. But you can take it or leave it." she said with a smirk.

"OK, you have a deal." he said handing her a mini donut.

She slowly moved the cupcake across the table and held it near his lips. Before she knew it, he leaned forward shoved the entire cupcake into his mouth, grazing her index finger with his teeth in the process.

Her lips parted and her big brown eyes focused on him with shock and mock horror. "You ate my cupcake." she pouted, adding a sniffle for effect. "I only had two." she whined as she picked up a bag of chips and threw them at him.

"I couldn't resist. I've wanted to taste them since first I laid eyes on them." he said with a wry smile.

"Shit, shit shit. He definitely isn't talking about the food anymore." she thought to herself knowing that she was partially responsibly for the flirtatious interaction between them. She could feel herself blushing – her mouth was getting dry – and all she wanted to do was fling herself onto his lap, and begin kissing that silly smile right off his face. She could practically feel his hot lips on hers – pressing into hers – kissing her – nibbling at her full lips.

Slowly, Olivia pulled the package closer to her, when she noticed a small dollop of cream on his bottom lip. A mischievous smile graced her face, and did not go unnoticed by Fitz. Now, it was her turn to shock him. "Two can play at this game." she thought to herself.

She slowly moved her index finger across the table, moving it gently across his lower lip until she wiped away all the cream. She moved her finger to her own lips, opening them slowly and inserting her index finger into her mouth. Without breaking eye contact, she closed her lips tightly around her finger and began to suck of the cream off. "Mmmmm" she purred, looking deep into his beautiful grey eyes. His mouth dropped and his member was at full attention. He shifted around to ease the tightness in his pants. Before he knew what was happening, Olivia lunged across the table, grabbed the package of donuts and popped one into her mouth.

"Mmmmm. Very satisfying." she teased as she licked the powered sugar from her lips.

"What just happened?"

"I just beat you at your own game." she said brightly. "Of course, I was also showing you what a valuable asset I would've been for your company."

"You didn't show me anything I didn't already know Ms. Pope. My company could never handle having you as an adversary."

Feeling a pang of guilt, Olivia returned his donuts, and finished her remaining cupcake. She realized that she was smiling – a real smile – not the fake smile that she showed the rest of the world to pretend that she was OK. She was happy, for the first time in months – and her body was reacting in ways that she had never experienced before – not even with Edison. She felt like a dam had opened up between her legs in the vending room and she was trying franticly to close it. Of course she was enjoying their little exchange – whatever it was they were doing – but she is married. She begins to rationalize that feelings are different than actions – knowing that she would never act on these feelings. She knows that Edison can be a controlling son of a bitch sometimes – but he is her controlling son of a bitch until death do they part. The guilt washed over her like a flood. Fitz looked at her observing the obvious change in her mood. She made a conscious effort to keep the conversation professional – and she began to re-build the walls around herself that Fitz had managed to crack.

The rest of their lunch was pleasant - filled with small talk about Fitz's company, and when they were finished he cleared the reminents of their picnic. He slid comfortably into the chair next to her to resume their conversation. His phone began to vibrate in his pocket – he pulled it out glancing at the cracked screen – RESTRICTED – he immediately clicked ignore. Before he could put it back into his pocket, it began to vibrate again – with RESTRICTED once again flashing across the caller ID.

"They seem very persistent, maybe it is an emergency. You should pick it up." she said with a hint of concern in her voice. His phone began to vibrate again, and again he hit ignore.

"As persistent as whoever was trying to call you 24 times." he said trying tease her before realizing that she looked upset by his comment.

"It's not an emergency Olivia, it is my father." he said matter of factly. "I've been dodging his calls for a few days now. I'm sure he wants to rip me a new one for what the negative publicity is doing to his approval ratings."

"I can't imagine Big Jerry putting up with that for too much longer. He is going to send the Secret Service to drag you out of your apartment in the middle of the night."

"It sounds like know my father very well."

"Not really. Edison is on the Senate Intelligence Committee, so I've met your father at some events, but he always insists that I call him Big Jerry instead of Mr. President."

"I'm sure he loves you." Fitz replied with a solemn expression.

Olivia decided to play off the comment. After all, Fitz's father was the biggest grab ass she had ever met in her life, but she didn't feel the need to introduce that into the conversation. From Fitz's expression, she was sure he already knew his father's love for all women who were not his wife.

"I doubt I even made an impression. He meets so many people. Besides, Edison is much friendlier with him than I am."

There was an awkward silence that hung in the air or a few seconds. The wooden door on the far side of the room opened and out stepped a nurse in her early 60s clutching a tablet in her left hand.

"Olivia Pope" she called into the room.

The nurse was short, and round and had a cheery red glow in her cheeks. She had silver hair that laid neatly to her should and she wore small silver framed glasses. Olivia made the instant comparison between her and Mrs. Claus in her mind.

Fitz stood first, extending his hand to help Olivia stand. He had already grabbed her tote and handed it to her as she glanced to make sure she didn't leave anything behind.

"Thank you.", she said as she began to walk toward the open door and waiting nurse. As she walked, she heard foot steps trailing behind her. She glanced behind her and stopped in her tracks turning face Fitz.

She glared at him. "May I help you, Mr Grant?"

"I thought I could keep you company while you waited back there. I promise I will turn around for any of the naked bits."

"Naked bits?" she laughed. "Mr. Grant," she began calmly, "If naked bits are your game, I suggest that you consult the internet." She rolled her eyes and continued to walk toward the door.

"That could have went better." Fitz thought to himself. He wasn't exactly sure what the verdict was. Was she allowing him to go back with her, or was he banished to the waiting room? She didn't explicitly say no, he decided the continue following her and hope for the best.

Olivia smiled as she heard the footsteps resume behind her. She was a little bit relieved that he would be with her. She was afraid to be alone again in the hospital – afraid of where her mind would take her – to the heartbreaking loss of her unborn daughter – her attraction to Fitz – her current state of possible unemployment – her argument with Edison – so she walked and she let him follow.


End file.
